The Paradox of Excellence

Abstract

Why is it that so many smart, ambitious professionals are less productive and satisfied than they could be? We argue that it's often because they're afraid to demonstrate any sign of weakness. They're reluctant to ask important questions or try new approaches that push them outside their comfort zones. For high achievers, looking stupid or incompetent is anathema. So they stick to the tasks they're good at, even while the rest of the organization may be passing them by. In short, they'd rather do the wrong thing well than do the right thing poorly. They get stuck in this unproductive and unfulfilling pattern and can't break free. Of course, leaders in organizations bear some of the blame for this type of play-it-safe mind-set. They don't always want to hear that a person is struggling, nor do they necessarily reward risk taking, even though they might pay lip service to innovative initiative. The authors outline several steps that individuals can take to shake off fear and paralysis, including looking at past negative experiences from somebody else's point of view and seeking out safe ways to allow themselves to become vulnerable.

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Describes the problems facing a recent MBA graduate in his job as general manager of a medical device company owned by a parent corporation. Raises issues of corporate divisional relationships and the difficulties facing an inexperienced manager who seems to be receiving little support. A redisguised and updated version of earlier case 494-005, reflecting the challenges of managing in innovation/R&D-driven industries and across multiple international sites.

This (B) case describes the actions André Wyss, president of Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, took in early 2012 to transform the company's General Medicines group and build its specialty medications, marketing the selling capabilities in the face of falling revenues and an imminent workforce reduction. Rather than downsize the organization quickly to save costs, Wyss and his team took a different approach. They told the organization's employees that there would be a significant workforce reduction but it would not occur for several months. In the meantime, Wyss asked the employees to help build the new capabilities and put processes in place to support the move into specialty medications. It was a bold decision and defied convention.

Over the course of a tumultuous weekend in April 2010, André Wyss was put in charge of Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation (NPC), the U.S. sales and marketing subsidiary of Novartis Pharma AG. He was brought in at a critical point in the organization's evolution with a mandate to grow the specialty medications business; however, the skills and capabilities needed to market and sell specialty medications were considerably different than those required for marketing and selling primary care medications, which NPC had been quite successful doing. In 2011, the five-year revenue projections were revised significantly downward, and Wyss needed to cut costs while also building the organization's capabilities quickly in early 2012.